


Nineteen Firsts and One Last

by arituzz



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: First Kiss, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Long-Distance Friendship, M/M, Simon Snow's nineteenth birthday, tumblr friends au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 10:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7264081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arituzz/pseuds/arituzz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Simon's nineteenth birthday. He's not expecting anything unusual, just some messages from his tumblr friends. But Baz has different plans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breakfast to your door

**SIMON**

 

I wake up to the doorbell ringing. I look at the clock. 5:59 am. Fuck. Who could it be at this unholy hour? Probably my father, coming back home drunk after a night of partying. Damn, why didn’t he stay in the hotel, as usual?

The doorbell rings again. “I’m fucking coming, dad!” I yell.

I put on some clothes and go to the door. I open it, ready to scowl at my father but, instead, there’s a delivery girl looking at me through her pointy glasses.

“Good morning,” she says. “A packet for Simon Snow.”

“Uhm… that’s me,” I tell her, a little bewildered.

She gives me the packet and makes me sign a paper. I tell her thanks and make to go back inside. “Wait,” I shout before she leaves. “Next time, could you come, I don’t know, in the afternoon? When I’m not sleeping?”

“Sorry, the sender wrote specific instructions to deliver this on 21st June at precisely 5:59 am. He even paid an extra and called the company to make sure we followed the instructions. Sounded rather bitter. I wouldn’t risk my job,” she explains. Ha. Like dying her hair blue wouldn’t risk it. Though, I have to say it looks awesome on her dark skin.

“Oh, in that case… Thanks. Have a nice day,” I wish her.

“See you later!”

I close the door and go to the living room, to open the packet. It’s a basket full of fresh-baked cherry scones and some blocks of butter. There’s a card with a note. It reads:

 

_ Some like it hot (page 38) _

_ 5:59 am - First breakfast to your door _

_ I’d bring it to your bed if I were there _

_ Baz  _

_ (Gampire Chaz to my Craigon Rain) _

 

Oh my God. Baz. Right, it’s my birthday. It’s nice of him that he remembered. Baz is my best friend on  _ tumblr _ . Well, he is my best friend, period. Although I’ve never met him in person, I feel like we’ve known each other for years. And to think that we used to be at each other’s throats! 

When I first read the book  _ A Charmed Life _ , I became hugely obsessed with its characters---i.e. the protagonist, a half-dragon named Craigon Rain---so I created a  _ tumblr _ blog to obsess about them. At that time, there were very few people in the fandom:  _ gampire-chaz-loves-craigon-rain _ (Baz),  _ rainchaz61 _ (Penny),  _ tape-exists-and-im-glad-for-it  _ (Agatha),  _ trixiethelesbianpixie _ (Trixie),  _ gampirhys _ (Rhys),  _ so-noted-rainchaz _ (Niall), and  _ craigonsnowrain _ (me). And we were like a little family.

But I hated Baz. And he hated me. We would make stupid competitions to see who had the most notes on their posts. I finally gave up because the fucker draws the most brilliant fanart. So I decided to befriend him and make some projects together.

A smile draws in my face as I eat the delicious over-buttered cherry scones.

I grab my cellphone to send a thank you message to Baz. 


	2. Doodle of you (and me)

When I’m done with breakfast, I scroll down my dash on tumblr. No happy birthday message. Well, it’s still early. Not for Baz, though, he lives in England, so it must be the afternoon already.

I decide to watch TV for a while---I have nothing planned for today. The fact is that I don’t really have any friends in real life. I don’t know many people here in Nebraska, and the ones I know are complete idiots. So my plan is to stay in all day and read a freaking lot of Rainchaz fanfiction.

After a while, I turn off the TV and go to  _ tumblr _ on my laptop. Oh, one notification:  _ gampire-chaz-loves-craigon-rain mentioned you in a post. _

I open the link and it’s a beautiful doodle of me and Baz, fighting a chimera---as in one of the book’s scenes. I’ve posted some pics of me before, so he has references. The post says: 

 

_ “Do it. Fucking unleash. Now.” (page 5) _

_ First doodle of you (and me) _

_ Baz _

 

I hit reblog and add: 

 

_ “I can’t. It doesn’t work like that.” _

_ BTW it’s fucking WONDERFUL!! tysm <3 _


	3. Signed copy of your favourite book

I’m reading a smutty Rainchaz fic when the doorbell rings again. It’s not that I’m gay, I just love the characters so much. And the smut is great, I love it. In a no-homo way.

I look at the clock. 7:59 am. It’s still too early for dad to come and I’m not expecting anyone. (Ever.)

I open the door and the same delivery girl brings another packet, this time smaller. 

She smiles at me and says, “You know the procedure.” I sign the paper and she leaves with a “See you later!”

“Later,” I reply.

I go back into the apartment and open the packet. It’s a book.  _ The _ book.  _ A Charmed Life _ . I go to the first page and, holy shit, it’s signed by the author! It’s so difficult to get a signed copy, I’ve been trying for months, but the author is not very sociable. She wrote:

 

_ To Simon Snow, _

_ May you fight your own battles and forge your own wings. _

_ Cather Avery _

 

Wow. It’s perfect. 

There is also a card with a note that reads:

 

_ “It’s the good things that’ll drive you mad with missing them.” (page 11) _

_ First signed copy of your favourite book. _

_ (I miss you even though I’ve never met you) _

_ Baz _

  
Jesus Christ. This is the best birthday present of my life. I take a picture of it and post it on  _ tumblr _ and add:  _ @gampire-chaz-loves-craigon-rain I wish you were here so I could hug you into oblivion! Thank you, best b-day present ever <3 _


	4. Aesthetic of us

I grab my old copy of  _ A Charmed Life _ \---don’t want to ruin this one---and start running through its pages. With all these gifts I feel like re-reading it. Again. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it.

It’s a _Young Adult_ fantasy novel about a very special chosen one. A chosen who doesn’t want to be chosen. Craigon Rain is the last half-human, half-dragon alive. He’s never met his mother---that’s where he got the dragon part. His father wants him to take part in a battle that’s not his own. A battle against the vampires. At first Craigon---the half-dragon---obeys his father’s orders until he meets Gampire Chaz, a teenage vampire who finds himself in the same situation as Craigon, but on opposite ends. The two boys fall in love, defying everything that’s been established by their families and it’s precisely their love the thing that saves them all. 

I identify myself quite a lot with Craigon  _ Rain _ \---my name is Simon  _ Snow _ , see the irony. I never met my mother either and I also think my father is the responsible of everything bad that happens in my life.

Baz identifies himself with the antagonist, Gampire Chaz---only because he’s got brown skin like him, and their middle names rhyme. The moron.

My phones buzzes and I leave the book on the table. Another  _ tumblr _ notification:  _ gampire-chaz-loves-craigon-rain mentioned you in a post. _

I open the link. It’s an aesthetic with six pictures of us---separately, duh---and three pictures with vampires and dragons. It’s beautiful. Under the post, Baz has written:

 

_ “Strong. Graceful. Fucking ruthless.” (Page 14) _

_ (You are) _

_ 8:59 am - First aesthetic of us! _

_ Baz _

  
I hit reblog and add:  _ This is too much Baz. I can’t even!! tysm <3 _


	5. Star

I can’t believe any of my  _ tumblr _ friends---we call ourselves raindrops---has wished me a happy birthday yet. Except Baz, sort of. I mean, he hasn’t said it _explicitly_. Penny lives in India and Agatha in France, I think they should have posted something by now… Now that I think of it I have no clue where Rhys, Niall and Trixie live… Well, Niall is clearly asian but that doesn’t mean that he  _ lives _ in Asia. I don’t know.

I’m hungry. Thinking too much makes me hungry.  _ Thinking  _ makes me hungry. I go the kitchen to see if there’s anything to eat.

Nothing. Fuck. I’m gonna have to go buy something.

I go to the closest supermarket and buy some popcorn and a peanut butter cup ice cream. Perfect combination for fanfiction reading.

As I climb the steps to my apartment, I bump into the delivery girl from before. 

“Hey, watch out,” she scowls and extends me yet another package.

I sign the paper and tell her, “later?”

“Later,” she answers, with a smile.

Once I’m inside, I open the packet---the third one today, and it’s only 9:59 am.

There are some papers inside the packet, a photo of a star, I think?

I read the note that Baz has left:

 

_ “Twinkle, twinkle little star!” (page 260) _

_ 9:59 am - First star _

_ (These are official documents that prove that this star is named after you and is now yours.) _

_ (Sorry I couldn’t give you the Universe, but this is a piece of it.) _

_ (Yes, I knew you wouldn’t understand shit of what the papers say.) _

_ Baz _

 

I’m at a loss of words. What the fuck. It must have cost him a fortune. Well, it must have cost his father a fortune. I guess they can afford it.

I send him a message on  _ tumblr _ :  _ got the star. what the actual fuck? speechless.  _

And then I add:  _ why arent u replying to any of my posts? u ok? _


	6. Tattoo

Right after reading the first fic, halfway through my ice-cream, the doorbell rings again. 10:59 am. I’m guessing it’s not dad, just yet.

I open the door, and a familiar blond haired girl with the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen is standing there, looking bored. 

“Agatha!” I scream.

“Happy birthday, Simon,” she smiles at me and kisses my cheek. “I’ve come to bring you your next gift.” She shows me what seems like a tattooer box.

I know what Agatha looks like and that she’s a professional tattooer. She’s posted several pics of her on  _ raindrops faces day _ . And the rest, too. All except Penny. (She says she can’t be bothered to take a selfie of herself.)

“Agatha!” I shout again. I still can’t believe it. “Come in,” I add.

We sit on the sofa and she gives me the next note. It reads:

 

_ “Flames and Blazes---The Art of Burning.” (page 203) _

_ 10:59 am - First tattoo _

_ (This is a combined gift from Wellbelove and me) _

_ (I made the design and she’s going to tattoo you) _

_ (You actually asked for it, so it’s no surprise) _

 

Agatha shows me the design. It’s a constellation. And there’s fire surrounding it.

“Simon,” she says. “This is going to hurt.”


	7. Roast beef from Watford

“It’s wonderful, Agatha,” I say when it’s finished, looking at my back through the mirror. “You could’ve been gentler, though.”

“I was gentle, Simon, believe me,” she replies.

The doorbell rings again. I think that it has rung more in one day than in nineteen years.

“Lunch,” Agatha says, and goes for the door. She opens it. “Hi, Penny,” she says to the delivery girl.

What?

“Penny?” I ask, stupidly.

“Sorry, Simon, it was too fun seeing you all clueless,” she apologizes.

“I am still clueless,” I retort.

She takes me into her arms and gives me a tight hug. “Happy birthday Simon! Let’s have lunch. Where’s the dining room?”

“Uhm, here, in the living room. I eat in the living room.”

“Oh, your note,” Penelope says as she gives me the card. 

 

_ “Because roast beef and Yorkshire pudding are fucking real as Rain.” (page 84) _

_ 11:59 - First roast beef and Yorkshire pudding from Watford _

_ (Because you haven’t eaten real roast beef if it’s not from England) _

_ (And Watford Restaurant serves the best one) _

_ (Enjoy your meal) _

_ Baz _

 

We sit on the sofa and start eating our lunch. I’m so happy. It’s like we do this everyday. But I miss Baz. I miss him so much. Where the fuck is he?


	8. Meeting

We finish eating and Penny looks at her watch. “It’s 12:59,” she says. “Dessert is here,” she smiles wickedly. 

“Open the door, Simon,” Agatha says.

I go for the door and open it. 

Baz.

Baz is here. With a cake in his hands.

Baz is here. And I can’t hug him.

“Baz!” I say, grinning widely.

“Hey, Snow, happy birthday,” he says, and hands the cake to me. There’s a card on it, too. 

 

_ “But he just stood there for as long as he could stand it. I don’t know how he resisted the pull; I felt like my intestines were going to burst out and wrap around him.” (page 167) _

_ 12:59 - First meeting _

_ (I’m here.) _

_ Baz _


	9. Smile

Baz looks like he’s trying to hide the huge smile that’s drawing in his face. But I can see it.

“Fuck, Snow,” he says, finally giving into the smile. “I wanted this to happen at 1:59 pm, but here you go.”

“What?” I ask

He takes out another card from the back pocket of his jeans and reads it.

“Trying not to crack a smile. Page 517.”

Then, he looks at his watch and adds, “ 1:01 pm, first smile. First real life smile from me to you.”

“The presents are getting better,” I say, trying not to smile from ear to ear.


	10. Birthday party

We eat the cake on the sofa. Baz tried to oppose to it, but I don’t really have a table with nice chairs to sit down and chat while drinking tea. I’ve never had anyone come over.

We talk about our lives. Well, they talk about their lives and I listen. And look at Baz. His eyes are prettier than I had imagined. And oh my God, his skin. It reminds me of toffee. It has such an appetizing color it makes me want to taste it.

After a while, Baz leads us downstairs and into a cab that’s parked in front of my building. 

The taxi drives for around twenty minutes before it comes to a stop. “We’ve arrived,” the driver anounces.

Baz tips him and gestures us to follow him. We enter a place called  _ The Wavering Wood Cafe _ .

“Happy birthday!” Rhys, Niall, Trixie and other fellow  _ raindrops _ I identify from  _ tumblr _ say at the same time as I go through the door.

“Jesus,” I say. I’m stupefied. A surprise party. For me.

Baz hands me another card and our fingertips brush. He cracks an undecipherable smile and looks away.

I read the note.

 

_ “It feels like a party.” (page 40) _

_ 2:59 pm - First birthday party _

_ (First of many to come) _

_ Baz _


	11. Fanfiction about us

I’m having a great time. It’s so fun talking to all my  _ tumblr _ friends in real life. I finally got to meet Keris, Trixie’s girlfriend. She always posts pics of them together. (Penny finds it gross.) (But that’s personal. She doesn’t like Trixie.)

I keep giving glances towards Baz’s direction. I don’t know why I can’t stop staring at him.

Suddenly, my phone buzzes. It’s a  _ tumblr _ post from Baz.

I open the link. It’s a fic. It’s called Snowbaz. Not Rainchaz. I read the summary:

 

_ “Because I’m disturbed.” (page 205) _

 

“Ask anyone,”I think out loud, smiling. And then continue reading the summary:

 

_ 3:59 pm - First fanfiction about us _

_ Baz _

  
I start reading the fic. It’s all fluff and love until the last part. Smut. I read it all. And love every word. Fuck.


	12. Flaming drink

I look at Baz. He’s already staring at me. I step towards him.

“Hey, Snow,” he says. “Ever tried a flaming shot?”

“I’m underaged, you know.”

“Not in my country,” he smirks.

“Okay, fine, give me a shot.”

“A  _ flaming _ shot, Snow,” Baz says. “Here.”

He hands me a small glass of liquor and sets it on fire with a lighter. He does the same with his glass.

“To us,” he says.

“To us,” I reply. 

He blows out the fire and drinks all the liquor. I mimic him. Ugh. I grimace.

“ _Sharing a room with the person you want most is like sharing a room with an open fire,_ ” Baz starts saying, looking directly into my eyes. “ _He’s constantly drawing you in. And you’re constantly stepping too close. And you know it’s not good---that there is no good---that there’s absolutely nothing that can ever come of it. But you do it anyway. And then…_ ”

“ _Then you burn,_ ” I finish. God, his eyes  _ are _ fire.

“Page 177. 4:59 pm, first flaming drink.”

“First drink,” I correct.

He laughs and orders a couple more.


	13. Kiss

We have a couple more shots and talk about our favorite AUs. We talk more than we drink.

Suddenly Baz looks at his watch, and then back at me. With the same blazing eyes from before. He stays silent, just looking at me, for a moment. He looks hesitant.

I think he’s going to kiss me.

But he doesn’t. He keeps staring. Some minutes pass. I stare at my watch. 6:10 pm. Where’s my 5:59 pm gift?

“Simon…” Baz starts, flaming shot in his hand.

And then  _ I _ kiss  _ him _ .


	14. Romantic dinner

We kiss for a long time. Then I let go and make him reach for me. And we kiss again.

After a while, we break the kiss and smile at each other. I’m grinning. I can’t help it.

“I was going to say  _ You were the sun, and I was crashing into you _ ,” Baz says. “But I guess the best quote for this is  _ And then HE kisses ME. _ ” He can’t hide his grin, either. 

“Page 342,” I say. “6:10 pm, first kiss.”

“Shite, what time is it?” He asks, already looking at his watch.

“6:50 pm,” I answer, moronically.

“Let’s go have dinner, Simon. You and me, only.”

“Okay,” I say. And I follow him to the next room.

There’s a small table for two with two candles. It’s always fire with Baz.

We sit down and he takes out another card.

“ _ You smell like something I’d gladly eat, _ page 421,” he says, staring at my eyes. “6:59 pm, first romantic dinner.”

I blush.


	15. Dance

After dinner, we all go to a pub. It’s called The World of Mages.

It’s great and I’m so happy to be surrounded by friends and the person I like. Baz. That’s new. Liking boys. No, not boys. Only Baz. Wanting to kiss him over and over again.

He takes my hand and says, “Want to dance?” 

I nod and smile at him. I’m crap at dancing but I don’t care.

Baz puts his hands on my waist and leads me through the song. Queen’s  _ Bohemian Rhapsody _ .

“ _ I should have known that this is what it would be like to dance with Craigon Rain. Fighting in place. Mutual surrender, _ ” Baz whispers into my ear. “Page 508. 7:59 pm, first dance.”

I place both my arms around his neck and slump into him.


	16. Boyfriend

We’re still at the pub. Dancing. Well, at least I’m trying.

“What are we going to do?” I ask him. “You’re going to leave back to England.”

“I know,” he answers with a crack in his voice. “We’ll figure it out, little puff.”

“Baz,” I say. “What’s the next gift? I think I have a better idea.”

“Huh? I was going to take you for a drive...”

“ _ I want to be your boyfriend. Your terrible boyfriend, _ ” I say. “Page 390.”

Baz looks surprised. He places both his hands on my face and kisses me, tenderly. “Of course,” he says. And kisses me again.

“8:59 pm,” I say. “First boyfriend.”

And I kiss him again.


	17. First time

After the pub, we say goodbye to our fellow  _ raindrops _ . There’s a lot of hugging and kisses on the cheek. God, I’m gonna miss them.

“We have to do this more often,” I say. Even though I’m broke. But I’ll find the money somehow.

They all agree.

Once they’re gone, it’s just me and Baz. 

“Let’s go back to my apartment,” I tell him.

“What if your father is there?”

“At this time? Not likely. He must be out, drinking again.”

“Okay,” he says.

We go to my apartment and settle in my room. It’s full of constellations on the walls. Because I love astrology. Hence the tattoo.

“Baz, you haven’t seen it,” I say.

“Seen what?”

“The tattoo, idiot!”

I take my shirt off and show it to him. He places his fingertips on my back and starts tracing it. The touch sends shivers down my spine.

“So beautiful…” Baz says.

I turn around and look at him. I reach for his shirt and take it off. Eyes locked on his. I close the distance and kiss him. And then my hands go down. I can’t stop myself. I kiss every spot of his dark olive skin. And I want more. And I can see that he wants, too.

So I take more. I take it all. And I give it all. To him. To Baz.


	18. I love you

“ _Because we match_ ,” I say after a while. My head is resting on Baz’s chest. Our fingers laced. “Page 420.” I look at my watch. “10:58 pm, first time.”

“When did you start giving yourself birthday presents?” Baz asks.

“I think it was when I did this,” I answer. And I kiss him.

“God, I love you, Simon Snow.”

“I love you, Baz.”

“ _ Fell in love, didn’t you? _ ” He smiles.

“10:59 pm, first I love you,” I say. 


	19. Goodbye

I go with Baz to the airport. I’m sad that he has to go. But I’m happy that he came. And he’s going to move to the States with his aunt, Fiona, next year. So I just have to wait for a year. And I’m going to visit him soon. Maybe for his birthday.

He looks at me with watery eyes. He holds my hand so hard it hurts a little.

“I’ll come to England, in a couple of months,” I reassure him. “And then you’ll come back. We’ll be seeing each other a lot. You won’t get rid of me that easily.”

“When I come to live in America with Fiona, I’m going to haunt your door day and night.”

There’s a shout for all the passengers of the flight to Southampton Airport.

Baz kisses me, before letting go.

“Goodbye, Simon,” he says. “This is a first and a last goodbye. Because the next time I see you, I won’t let you go for anything in the world.”

“Go on, then,” I say. “Carry on, Baz.”

  
-FIN-


End file.
